Are you an International Student?

Student diversity is a hallmark of the academic experience at BTS. You will enjoy meeting and developing life-long friendships with men and women from around the neighborhood and around the world. Our aim is to make your experience at BTS as spiritually, academically, and culturally fulfilling as possible.

To provide all students with a dynamic academic experience, the following are additionally required for international student admissions:

“It is great to see how BTS has impacted lives for God's kingdom.”

- Pastor Paul Hong, MA Old Testament and MDiv, BTS 1995

Special Instructions for International Students

If you are an international applicant whose native language is not English, or who has not received a bachelor's degree or its equivalent from an English-speaking institution, you must send official results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to the admissions office. BTS requires all such prospective students to take the TOEFL internet-based test (TOEFL iBT). The minimum required score is 20 in each of the four sections (speaking, listening, reading, and writing). The minimum total score is 80. For information concerning the TOEFL iBT Test, visit www.ets.org.

F-1 Students

According to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS, formerly INS), F-1 students must be both matriculated and enrolled full-time (at least nine credits per semester, except during the summer). To remain "in status," F-1 students must stay in compliance with these requirements. You must also be making satisfactory progress toward your degree program.

In addition, international students who require an I-20 must provide evidence of documented financial support by submitting three forms: an I-20 Dependent Form, an F-1 Financial Form , and a notarized affidavit of support with original bank statements. Students coming from other institutions in the United States must also submit a transfer form. These forms may be obtained from the
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.

You must also demonstrate that you have enough financial support to cover the first full year of seminary before admission can be granted. BTS reserves the right to request payment in full for the first enrollment year in an amount that covers full-time tuition and living expenses. Individuals who will be studying as students in the US for the first time must also pay an initial status fee to the government before applying for a visa. For more info, see the international student info guide above or visit www.FMJfee.com.

Are you in need of additional training?

Our Advanced Cultural Studies program focuses on English as a second language curriculum designed for people doing theological studies at the graduate level. The innovative curriculum orients students to theological terms, academic writing skills, and a full program of core courses that prepare international students for the seminary experience.

I can’t tell you how pleased, encouraged and excited I am at the response of our Korean students at BTS to missional ideas and missional ministry innovations, and how insightful and perceptive are their incorporations of missional ideas to their own culture and ministry context. Not to us, but to God alone be glory. I truly believe that Korean BTS graduates have the potential truly for changing the church and Christianity in the U.S., in Korea, and potentially in the world, in part because of the missional theology and ideas that they’re wrestling with, grasping, and seeking to apply in their educational training at BTS.